Iran tension

The Obama administration has laid out a rigorous outline for Tehran to follow before an agreement can be reached regarding Iran’s nuclear program, the details of which will be discussed in talks next week.

Leaked international intelligence service cables have provided telling insights into the reality of Iran's civilian nuclear program-an issue which has been continually hyped up and distorted by Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu.

Doctored blueprints for nuclear weapon components supplied to Iran by the CIA 15 years ago could force the IAEA to review its conclusions on Iran’s atomic program, which was potentially based on misleading intelligence, Bloomberg reports.

Israel has inaccurately provided information and twisted the official US position and offers in nuclear talks with Iran, the White House and State Department stated, accusing Tel Aviv of “selectively” leaking details of sensitive talks.

Conceding to a federal lawsuit, the US government agreed to release a 1987 Defense Department report detailing US assistance to Israel in its development of a hydrogen bomb, which skirted international standards.

Washington and Tehran came a step closer to agreeing on shipping part of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile to Russia, AP reported on Friday, citing diplomatic sources. However, Iran denied that any such agreement took place.

UK defense officials face heated condemnation this week as the findings of a public inquiry into one of Britain’s most brutal battles in recent years surfaces. UK troops have been accused of the unlawful murder and torture of Iraqi citizens in 2004.

Iran has launched airstrikes against Islamic State militants in eastern Iraq in recent days, the Pentagon confirms. According to spokesperson Rear Adm. John Kirby, the strikes were not co-ordinated with the US military and may be the first of their kind.

The United States understands that Iran is also bombing areas of Iraq where extremist group Islamic State is operating, a defense official has confirmed, but it will not respond to Tehran’s presence unless there is an immediate threat to US forces.